Lixit Safe Soft Tip Pill Administer Tool for Cats, Dogs and Other Pets That Require Medication. (Pack of 1)

A little background history... we rescued an adult cat who was being fostered. There was no medical history, all we knew as it had "allergies" and that it wasn't gaining any weight (skin and bones!). It was a pure bred Tonkinese female and I quickly suspected it was ill. I got it to my vet quickly to discover it not only had an upper respiratory infection, but hyperthyroidism and it was older than first suspected. Why the foster "parent" never had any blood work done on a senior cat with no medical history is beyond me, but at least I save a life. Anyway, after a bout of pancreatitis from the stress of moving her, and on top of that, into a home with 8 other cats, we were able to start giving her the thyroid pills. At first, she gobbled up the cream cheese "treats" and everyone was happy, then 2 days later, cream cheese gone, little pink pill is on the floor... next step, pry open mouth, pop down throat, hold mouth shut until she swallows. Wise cat, she won't swallow, spits pill out. Next step, pry open mouth. pop down throat, hold mouth shut, get plastic syringe with water and put water down her throat several times. Unfortunately, in the time it took too get the water, she had time to hide the pill and spit it out after a few bouts of water! Clearly, she's taken pills before! That's when I went hunting for these so called pill guns. This one looked the best, because it had the water and on occasion, the water trick did work, just not always. So, did it work?Yes, it works! Let's start with what not to do.1. Do not put it the side of the cats mouth. While this works for liquid medications, it doesn't work for this. This seems to leak a lot of the water out, thus not giving the full amount and leaving room for wise cats to still be able to spit the pill out. Lesson learned.2. Do not do this slowly, thinking it's "nicer" for the cat, this allows for them to be able to separate pill from water and spit the pill out. Again, lesson learned.Now, let's talk about the correct way to to do it.1. Fill the entire barrel with water (as far as it will let you, which is not all the way).2. Wedge the pill in the tip, it's perfect for thyroid pills!3. Place about half of the white part (see picture) into the FRONT of the cats mouth (see above, not the side!) and QUICKLY (see above, not slowly) push down and administer the water/pill as quickly as possible. This may seem like you are going to gag your cat on water, but trust me, you don't. They swallow very quickly and they don't have time to react to the surge of water and the pill mixed in with it, thus they can't sort pill from water and they have to swallow it.Note: They will be peeved. Probably for hours. They may bite, hiss, scratch, and hold a grudge for who knows how long. They may put a 21 pound cat in their place w/in minutes of having received said pill - yes, this has happened and it was quite comical. They may in fact hiss at every cat (And human) they come in contact with an refuse treats just to spite themselves. However, beware, as every other cat in your house will expect a treat just for putting up with the madness of the now peeved cat. You were warned.I highly recommend this product if you have a pill spitting cat! However, I will say that I don't know if a large pill would fit in the tip.

I didn't like the pill and liquid medication shooter at all. Maybe its better for a big dog. First I bought it for my ill cat. I gaged her with the liquid. I felt horrible. Then I tried the pill shooter for the round pills and they would not stay in the pill shooter. I put the pill on the end and pushed it back a little, then it stuck in the pill shooter. Waste of money, non returnable. One more thing, the end is not soft actually the plunger is softer than the end that holds the pill. Don't buy.

Very useful item.

My cat has to have essentially 2 pills a day for the rest of his life. He is 16 lbs and I have no one to help me pilling him. The ordeal is generally a bloody (for me) disaster (for both of us). I don't feel comfortable with the long pill guns out of concern of poor control (granted not yet tried). I wanted to be sure I got something with a soft but non removable tip. I do wish the tip on this was softer, I feel like this could still be harsh on the throat.I just read the reviews and tried it for the first time and it worked GREAT. I have a standard gel capsule and did use a little low sodium organic chicken broth mixed with some potassium powder he has to take and luckily doesn't mind the flavor of. (I am not a vet just know sodium should be low, small amount only, and wanted the experience to not be entirely awful). I didn't want to use much liquid for fear of choking or going down his windpipe. I only had maybe a quarter or less of the thick area of this syringe with liquid. This also meant the syringe wasnt extended too far back to ensure the motion was quick. My plunger does make a squeak sound another reviewer mentioned and does get a bit stuck when the plunger is farther back but with how little liquid I used it was smooth and silent.I always try meds in food 1st and treats 2nd before pilling because I swear I hate it worse than he does. He's too smart for his own good so there's no telling how future attempts may go but I was impressed with the first go.

I dewormed the whole litter of kittens for all types of worms, including heart worms. It did exactly what it is supposed to do. No parts to pop off from the tubing into the cats throat, like some other similiar products. This is really safer than those types of pill administer tools. I found it best to have a capful of water near by in case you have a cat who tries to manipulate the pill out of the back of it's mouth. Usually does the trick for the stubborn ones. I would definitely buy again if I ever needed to purchase a new one. I took one star off, because the plunger is really stiff. So, some resistance when expelling the pill. I do not know if used more often the plunger will be smoother in movement. Good luck to you if you ever have to administer pills to your cats!

Do not buy this.It does not work.The tip of the syringe part that pushes the medication out is too soft. It just bends against the medication.It does not shoot out the medication, at all.